A DAD CROSS

Evening Star, Issue 19375, 8 October 1926, Page 11

A DAD CROSS

When Donald won the Farewell Handicap at the Geraldine meeting on Friday evening, no doubt with the good intention of allowing those present who had dividends to collect to do so in time to catch the train, the order to pay out was given to the totalisator within five minutes of the finish of the race. Under ordinary circumstances this, though a breach of the rules, would have been appreciated by all, but unfortunately the circumstances of the race were not ordinary, and if tho stipendiary steward saw the start of tho race bus first duty would have been to warn the secretary not to give the order in case the incidents at the start should upset the judge’s placing when inquired into. I use the term “ if the stipendiary steward saw the start of tho race,” because I asked him when the horses had returned to tho enclosure if there was to be an inquiry, and he said he did not know. When the horses lined up at the start Monoxide, Assurance, and Margaret Birney each gave a good deal of trouble, and it took Mr M‘Nab, the starter, some time before he got them into line, and when ho released the harrier they were in quite a fair line, but not in the places they drew at the scale, with the exception of Ronald, on tho extreme outside, and John Bradbury, next to him. Directly the barrier rose Ronald's rider made a bee-line for the rails, there being a sharp bend only a few yards in front of the starting post for mile races. In doing so, he bumped into Margaret Birney, who, in turn, interfered badly with Assurance, Monoxide, and Cornstalk, tho latter so much so thatiit was half a dozen strides afterwards before his small rider got him on to his feet properly. The case appeared to bo a very deliberate one, and certainly spoilt the chances of any of the four winning. An inquiry was afterwards held, but the machine people were busy paying out before it commenced, and a caution was administered to Brodie, the rider of Eonaki, to be more careful in future, the mildness of the censure being on account of the sharp turn out of the straight almost immediately after tho start. The offence warranted a much more severe sentence to bo consistent with other punishments recommended by Mr Curry for similar offences, and Ronaki’s owner and backers were indeed lucky that the race was not taken away from the horse. I think Ronald and Heather Lad would have filled the first two places with a fair run out of tho barrier, but still the others were entitled to a fair run. Another unfortunate aspect of tho case was the fact that Ronaki was locally owned. In any case, the dividends should not have been paid out until the inquiry had been completed.